The birth mother of a baby boy who died after the alleged neglect of his father has spoken out about why she wanted to take her son back from the lesbian couple who had adopted him.

Markeya Atkins, 16, took back her son Gabriel in March, three months after Rachel and Heidi McFarland cut his umbilical cord and took him home as their own son.

And just weeks later, the boy's teen father, Drew James Weehler-Smith, allegedly left the boy alone at the couple's Des Moines, Iowa apartment. Atkins returned to find him unresponsive and he was later pronounced dead.

'I never thought in my wildest dreams this would happen,' Atkins told WHO-TV on Thursday as she spoke out about her son's death for the first time.

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Loss: Markeya Atkins, 16, has said she couldn't imagine her life without her baby after initially giving him up for adoption. After taking him back, the baby's dad allegedly left him alone and the boy died

She explained that, after discovering she was pregnant five months along, she knew that she wouldn't be able to raise the little boy so decided to give him up for adoption.

'I just thought – the rest of my life – am I really ready to give away the rest of my life for someone,' she said. 'And I just felt like it was the best way to go about it.'

But in February, she visited the couple's home and had second thoughts when she saw Rachel kiss the little boy and said 'mommy's here'. She passed back the baby and stormed out, she said.

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Afterwards, the couple texted Atkins' mother and said she wouldn't be allowed to visit alone without her mother there in the future - which angered Atkins, she said.

'It really hurt my feelings because my mom was not there when I made the baby,' she said.

She
made a list of pros and cons about taking her son back and 'couldn't
for the life of me' think why she would want to have him again, she said.

Tragic: Rachel and Heidi McFarland, pictured, cared for Gabriel from birth until the middle of March

Loving moms: The McFarlands said they only heard about Gabriel's death on Tuesday on the news

'When you have a baby it's like this instinct comes on where a part of you just feels like you have something left in this world,' she said.

She said that she did not appreciate the adoptive couple telling her that they hoped the tragedy would be a wake-up call for the girl.

'They have no right to talk to me about that,' she said. 'I did absolutely nothing wrong.'

Earlier this week, the couple said they were devastated when they learned that the infant they had considered their own had died - while watching the news.

'It's like he's been taken away from you again,' Rachel McFarland told the Des Moines Register.

The McFarlands, who have been married five years and together 18, said they are devastated.

They had supported the mother financially through her pregnancy and had been with her at every doctor's appointment. The couple said they repeatedly asked Atkins if she wanted to go ahead with the adoption and she said 'yes.'

Teen mom: Atkins, 16, took the boy back on March 13, three months after the youngster was born

Adorable: Police have charged Drew James Weehler-Smith of Des Moines with neglect of a dependent person after he left his son, pictured, alone in an apartment on Tuesday

'We brought him home from the hospital,' Rachel McFarland told the Register. 'I cut his umbilical cord.'

She
said from that moment on she spent every waking moment with the baby
until his birth mother reneged on the adoption that was agreed last
September. Heidi even took maternity leave from work.

Gabriel
was born deaf in one ear and they
had fitted him for a hearing aid and had planned to learn sign language
so they could communicate with the child in case he lost the hearing in
his other ear.

'It just felt natural. When he was with us it just felt right. Like we were always meant to be moms,' Rachel told WHOTV.com.

But,
in Iowa, the birth mother has three months and then one additional
31-day probationary period to change her mind about giving up her baby.

According
to police, the young mom left the baby with Weehler-Smith in an
apartment in the 6500 block of Chaffee Road at about 7.25pm while she
went to the library and to run errands.

Scene: According to police, the young mom left the baby with Weehler-Smith in an apartment, pictured, in the 6500 block of Chaffee Road at about 7:25p.m. while she went to the library and to run errands

About 25
minutes later, a friend dropped into the apartment to collect a phone
charger and saw the father holding the child. She left and called the
mother asking whether she trusted Weehler-Smith.

The
Register reported that the mother asked the friend to return to the
apartment but when she pulled in she saw the father driving away without
the baby.

She notified the mom, who rushed home and found Gabriel limp and not breathing in a glider chair. He was pronounced dead at hospital.

While devastated, the McFarlands are determined not to let the failed adoption and Gabriel's death ruin their lives.

'We're just left to put the pieces back together,' Rachel said.

Weehler-Smith could face additional charges pending the results of an autopsy.